The present invention relates generally to games of chance, such as state or nationally sponsored lotto/lottery games, but can be applied to other games of chance as well, such as bingo or casino games, or any other type of venue which contains an unpredictable outcome that a player participates in. More specifically, the invention is a progressive raffle add-on game that is added to a base game of chance where the outcome is partially determined by the wager a player placed upon playing the base game play. For conceptual purposes, the present invention will be described as applied to state lottery games hereunder, but shall not be viewed as fixed or limited to such application.
While each national/state lottery has its own rules which vary slightly and are usually published on their websites, and while some states/nations now permit the purchase of lottery tickets through the internet, the following is just one example of basic lotto rules or regulations, how to play the game, and game summary which are presented for foundational purposes and should additionally not be viewed as fixed or limiting.
Lotto Game Summary:
A player chooses six numbers from 1 to 49. Six numbers are drawn plus a bonus number, out of 49 numbered balls. If a player matches all 6 numbers, they win the jackpot. If they match 5 numbers and the bonus number, they win the second highest prize. If they match five, four or three numbers, they can win smaller prizes.
How to Play Lotto:
First, mark six numbers on any individual lottery board or lottery play slip. On some lottery play slips a player can play with more than one set of numbers. A player can also buy tickets without completing a play slip. The player allows the computer terminal choose six-number combinations at random.
Some play slips allow a player to play the same numbers for more than one week (for several draws). The player needs to mark the appropriate section accordingly. The player will only receive one ticket, but their numbers will be entered for the draw-days and number of weeks selected.
A player takes the completed lottery play slip to a retailer or lottery terminal. They will enter the player's selections into the terminal and give the player a Lotto/Lottery game ticket. The player is responsible for checking that the information it contains is correct—the numbers, the days they wish to play, the number of weeks and the draw date(s).
Where applicable, they must also check that the bar-coded serial number on the ticket is clearly readable and that the “Void” box has not been marked. The player is encouraged to keep their ticket safe as they'll need it to claim their prize, as it is the only proof that they are a winner. It is recommended that they put their name and address on the reverse of the ticket for security purposes.
If any of the six-number Lottery/Lotto game selections on their ticket matches the main six numbers drawn in the relevant Lottery/Lotto game draw—in any order—they are a jackpot winner. In some cases, they may have to share the jackpot with other winners. They can also win smaller amounts by matching five, four or even three main numbers out of six. In some states/nations, if they have matched five numbers already, matching the bonus number will win them the second highest prize.
Basic Lotto/Lottery Game Rules and Regulations for Popular Lotteries:                A player must be 16/18/21 years of age or older to buy Lotto/Lottery tickets and claim prizes.        Players are responsible for checking their tickets before leaving the retailer location.        A ticket is void if stolen, unissued, mutilated, illegible, tampered with or altered in any way, defective or incomplete.        The Lottery is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets.        A Lotto/Lottery ticket may be cancelled only if presented before the drawing to the Retailer where it was originally purchased.        A player must fill in their name, address and phone number on the back of their winning ticket before they file a prize claim.        All winning tickets are subject to validation by the Lottery.        All winning tickets are bearer instruments.        All prizes must be claimed within 6 months/one year from date of drawing.        
Lottery games have always been popular, and have provided consistently growing revenues for education in many states/nations.
Industry research shows lottery games with higher overall payouts and payout chances create more “winning experiences” for players, and sell better. Almost 10 years ago, many states began to introduce premium variations of traditional scratch-off, instant win lottery tickets. For a higher price such as $2.00-$10.00 instead of the traditional $1.00, players could experience multiple winning opportunities or better odds with higher payouts, which enhanced their overall chances and playing experience. As a result, scratch-off, instant win lottery ticket revenues have surpassed traditional lotto revenues in many states, and continue to thrive while traditional lotto revenues remain stagnant, and in some states are consistently declining.
Of particular interest is the observation of Lotto/Lottery game analysts that consumers are most receptive to purchasing a new game in the first 4 weeks it is offered for sale. This puts the burden on game designers to constantly create new, innovative gaming ideas or a means for consistently repackaging existing games to appear fresh.
Efforts to raise traditional lotto sales, such as increasing drawings from 1× week to 2× a week, have been implemented, but due to the already high payout expectation in the minds of consumers, lottery authorities have been challenged to provide a fresh lotto innovation that would demand a ticket price higher than the traditional $1.00 per ticket.
In recent years, several state lotteries have incorporated a raffle on an annual or semi-annual basis as seen in FIG. 2. One of the most popular state raffles is named the Millionaire Raffle and offers players the best odds to win $1 million dollars, where sponsoring states offer a limited number of raffle tickets at an average price of $20 per ticket. Each ticket contains one unique number which is included in a raffle drawing. The total amount of the prizes offered is typically close to 50% of the total revenues generated by the particular raffle drawing, and are typically divided amongst several fixed $1 million, $100,000, $10,000 and $500 prizes. The amount of fixed prizes and prize amounts are predetermined by each state lottery before tickets are sold.
Raffle games such as the Millionaire Raffle have been widely and enthusiastically accepted by players across all states, with many raffle tickets selling out only days or weeks after tickets are offered for sale, and only a handful of smaller state lotteries have completed their sales period with unsold tickets remaining.
As successful as state raffle drawings have been however, the very nature & structure of a raffle drawing offers several limitations to the sponsoring state's efforts in increasing revenues. The most apparent limitations are as follows: (1) An average ticket price between $10-$20 is much higher than the cost of a traditional lottery ticket, and may be more than the typical lottery player is willing to pay on an on-going basis. (2) The number of fixed prizes offered is typically based on the assumption that all tickets will be sold; offering a number of fixed prizes which are not determined on a pari-mutuel basis transfers the risk to the sponsoring lottery if all the tickets are not sold. (3) A raffle drawing can be a cannibal game, absorbing funds that would otherwise be spent on other state lottery games. (4) Promoting the typical raffle game is time consuming, often requiring a 6-8 week sales period for a single raffle drawing, and (5) the very nature of a raffle dictates that all prizes are paid out in a single drawing which prevents the typical raffle game from utilizing the most influential factor in increasing game sales known to date; the rolling jackpot. As seen in FIG. 3, a case study of the 2006 ticket sales of the Florida Lotto™ game shows that the average number of ticket sales increase by over 500 percent (500%) when a larger jackpot is available.
Of background interest is application WO 2007/092530 by SCIENTIFIC GAMES ROYALTY CORP ET AL titled LOTTERY GAME HAVING AN INDEPENDENT RAFFLE PRIZE. SCIENTIFIC teaches of a lottery game with a capped jackpot prize and increasing raffle prize where if there is no jackpot winner for the lottery game drawing, the jackpot is increased until the jackpot is at least equal to a predefined value. If there is no jackpot winner for the lottery game drawing and the jackpot prize is at least equal to a predefined value, a raffle prize is established. If there is no jackpot winner for the lottery game drawing and a raffle prize is established, the raffle prize is incremented.
While a novel means of incorporating a raffle to an on-line lottery game, there are disadvantages which may limit the commercialization of such a game. (1) While the game is in the spirit of a raffle, it offers a limited number of prizes, as each prize is $1 million dollars (2) Capping the jackpot prize of the base game may cause players to lose interest rather than promote interest (3) the drawings depict a $2.00 price per play indicating a premium cost over the traditional $1.00 to play such a game. A concern is until the jackpot exceeds the minimum threshold to trigger the raffle game, if players would be willing to pay the additional cost vs. 2 plays of a traditional on-line lottery game. (4) The game can be a cannibal game, absorbing funds that would otherwise be spent on other state lottery games. (5) The aspect of the raffle prizes is not being distributed to the raffle winners until a jackpot winner is determined might be a turn-off for faithful players who have paid the premium wager, received their raffle numbers, realized they were in possession of a winning $1 million raffle ticket, then not receiving the jackpot through no fault of their own. Therefore, an improved raffle game which addresses the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art is still needed.